Wichmann wins

It's nice to have everything set up for you to succeed, but you still have to execute to make it happen. Hawaii sophomore Annett Wichmann did exactly that yesterday.

All Wichmann had to do, on her home track, was stay right behind Utah State's Lacey Hulbert in the 800 meters to seal her win in the Western Athletic Conference heptathlon yesterday at Cooke Field.

Although nothing's easy at the end of two days of competitive running, jumping and throwing, Wichmann had all the tactical and strategic advantages going into the final of seven events.

In the 800, the smart runner usually stays tucked in behind the leader for at least half of the race. In this case, Wichmann could use Hulbert as a wind-breaker and pacesetter the entire way if she wanted.

"That was the plan, but you never know how fast the other person might kick," Wichmann said.

And hey, if you can win the race, why not go for it?

After the final turn, with about 100 meters to go, Wichmann sprinted past Hulbert and crossed first in 2:23.01. Hulbert was second at 2:26.41. The athletes reversed the places they finished in the indoor season's one-day, five-event pentathlon.

Wichmann finished with a school-record 5,374 points in the first UH heptathlon win in a WAC championship meet. She is a provisional qualifier for the NCAA championships in two weeks at Sacramento, Calif.

"That was the biggest goal," Wichmann said.

They don't throw the javelin indoors, and that was one of the biggest differences between this competition and the pentathlon.

Hulbert, whose background is in the jumps, led after Wednesday's opening phase and expanded the margin with a field-beating 5.59-meter long jump in yesterday's first event. She also won the 100 hurdles, high jump and 200 meters on Wednesday, with Wichmann staying in striking distance despite winning only the shot put.

The sixth event, the javelin, belonged to Wichmann and gave her the lead for the first time. She launched the spear 43.05 meters for 726 points compared to 32.07 and 516 points for Hulbert.

It put Wichmann in the driver's seat -- actually, the back seat -- for the 800. And that's where you want to be.

"I wanted to stick behind Lacy and not let her get away," Wichmann said.

Hulbert, shielding Wichmann from the wind, was caught in the unenviable position of being behind while she was ahead and with no tactical options.

"Then she passed me, and it was like, 'Well, I can't catch you, I'll just try to stay with you,'" Hulbert said. "I got gold and she got silver indoors, so it's way cool it's the other way around now."

UH led the women's meet after the heptathlon, with 10 points from Wichmann's school-record performance and four for Mallory Gilbert's 4,376-point fifth-place effort.

Utah State was second with Hulbert's eight points for second and Aimee Sauvageau's one point for eighth.

Utah State's Logan Taylor won the men's decathlon with a steady 6,713-point performance that included a 59.00-meter javelin throw for first place and 723 points.

Taylor, a junior, missed much of the outdoor season with a hip injury.

"I'm most proud of my javelin and shot (13.28 meters). It's a pretty satisfying win because of the injuries," Taylor said. "It's nowhere near NCAA qualifying, but at least I gave my team a head-start in the team points."

Idaho, though, led with 16 points, as Vandals Ryan Lang, Marcus Luckstead and Ian Snook were second, third and fifth.

Indoor heptathlon champion Keron Francis of Boise State pulled out of the decathlon on Wednesday with a hamstring injury.